Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - note:
crossroads of Western Europe; majority of West European capitals
within 1,000 km of Brussels, the seat of both the European Union and
NATO
People Belgium
Population:
10,379,067 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.7% (male 883,254/female 846,099)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 3,450,879/female 3,389,565)
65 years and over: 17.4% (male 746,569/female 1,062,701) (2006 est.)
Median age:
total: 40.9 years
male: 39.6 years
female: 42.1 years (2006 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.13% (2006 est.)
Birth rate:
10.38 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate:
10.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration rate:
1.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)